


Healing

by dreamsofboston



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: F/M, Therapy, just some good old fashioned day dreaming, no fluff but like, this is how i cope
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-11
Updated: 2019-03-11
Packaged: 2019-11-15 18:43:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,815
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18078878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamsofboston/pseuds/dreamsofboston
Summary: Takes place right after SnK chapter 115 (Support). In which the Reader finds Hanji and Levi washed up on the riverbed.





	Healing

**Author's Note:**

> this is deadass some therapy i whipped up post-115, in which the reader takes care of both hanji and levi bc i can only see them suffer so much. im not sure if im gonna make this a mini-series with eventual levi x reader, but we shall see! pls don’t think of this as me trying to re-write canon, this is only a little day-dream i had of what might have happened post-115. thank u for reading love u bye!

Your home by the river was warm inside. Since it was raining, it gave you an excuse to start a fire. You were planning on doing laundry today, but with the terrible weather, that was no longer an option. The rain pattered against the roof as you sat, nestled in a blanket by the crackling fire while your stew cooked in front of you. Your home smelled delicious; you wished your family was here with you, but your father and mother had to travel far into town in order to settle a debt with the bank. So, it was just you for the rest of the week; you and the other animals in your little farm.

You glanced out the window, dismayed to find that it was still raining steadily. The clouds had cleared up maybe two hours prior, just for a little while, and then it had gone right back to raining. You had hoped it would have stopped raining to give you enough time to go out and re-stock the hay to feed the cow, but it looked like you would need to brave the cold and wet today to feed Bessie.

She sniffed at you interestedly as you stuffed fresh hay into her feeding bin. You rubbed her snout affectionately, smiling as she leaned up to meet your hand. The chickens were clucking away, and you looked in their coops to find that there weren’t any eggs today. You sprinkled some feed on the ground for the chickens, and when the cold started to get to you, you decided it was time to get back inside.

As you turned to go back into your house, something very dark and hairy had appeared on the bank of the river since you last looked at it. You squinted, trying to get a better look at what it was; an animal? But it was so big…

You hesitated a moment; it was potentially dangerous, investigating this situation. While you didn’t live in a city let alone a town, you had still heard the news of how dangerous the world was right now. Still, something in your gut told you that something was off. With a deep breath, you began to cautiously approach the river bank.

As you got closer, you saw brown and black hair, and dark green cloth, and then - the insignia of the Survey Corps. That really surprised you; after confirming that these were indeed humans, being pushed against the side of the bank by the current, you hurried down to them, mud and rain caking your boots and dress.

“Hello?” You said cautiously as you got closer. You reached out a hand, only to have a hand grab back. With a yelp, you pulled back, but the other person’s grip was too strong. You looked at them, their face finally visible, surprised to find a person with dark brown hair and glasses staring at you wildly.

“Help me carry him.” They demanded, and before you knew it, you were hauling the man with black hair up the bank and towards your home.

“Um-- I have shelter,” you offered meekly, not entirely sure why you did. These people just seemed desperate, and you wanted to help. The brown-haired soldier said nothing, just kept glancing behind them as if someone were following them, and they were pushing you to move at a quicker pace despite your obvious struggle. You weren’t the strongest, and carrying a whole human person (even with help) was a challenge. Still, you made it to your front porch in record time, and you flung the door open, closing it just as quickly to prevent any more rain getting into the house.

Without even consulting you, the brown-haired soldier had pushed the little vase sitting on your kitchen table to the floor, hauling their friend onto the wooden surface. It wasn’t until he was laying on his back that you saw that his entire face and body was covered in blood and shrapnel. It was unlike anything you’d seen before-- and you and your mother had been doctors during the titan raids. You had helped clean up soldiers’ wounds and carried corpses to be burned or buried; but this man before you was a sight to say the least.

“The lights!” The soldier hissed, snuffing out your candles one by one.

“What-- why?” You asked incredulously, although you helped extinguish the candles, as well.

“We’re being followed-- get down.” They ordered, pushing you to the floor as they crouched down with you. You did as they said, although you were sure to explode with a flurry of questions in a moment. Any inclination you had to speak was silenced soon enough, though; the unmistakable sound of horses hooves thundering towards your home froze you in place, and you shared a worried glance with the brown-haired soldier. Their jaw was set with a strong resolve, though you could see the flickering of panic within their gaze. You glanced at the fire as the horses came closer; would that give away the hint of life?

Without thinking too much, you quickly pulled the soaked green cloak off the soldier's back, and crawled towards the fire. You smothered it quickly, thankful you had more matches and firewood so that once this was over, you could continue cooking your stew. Turning back to the soldier, they nodded to you appreciatively as the horses inevitably came to a stop just outside your home. You heard Bessie moo at the new arrivals, and followed the soldier as they crawled under the table.

You always kept the curtains drawn closed whenever you were home alone; you silently thanked your past self for doing that without thinking. There were voices outside; you didn’t recognize any of them, but to the person beside you, they meant danger.

“How could we have lost them?” One man exclaimed.

“Shit, we’ll really get our asses handed to us.”

A pause. Some shuffling.

“Do you think anyone’s home?”

A knock on the door.

“Hellooooo?”

More waiting.

“Maybe we can take some eggs for the road?”

“They must be gone for the day. Plus, I don’t think they’d be able to haul him all the way up here alone. We’d see the blood.”

Another moo from Bessie.

“Let’s keep going. Maybe there’s a town further down…”

The voices faded and the sound of galloping hooves resumed, this time fading in the other direction as the group made their way further downstream.

You gave it a moment before you crawled out from under the table, putting your hands on your hips as the soldier crawled out after you. They immediately began inspecting their friend, who was currently bleeding out on your table. You gathered that he was in a serious condition, if not already dead. So, you bit back all of your questions as you rushed into your mother’s and father’s room to retrieve their medical supplies.

“I’m a doctor-- I’ve worked with soldiers before.” You explained as you began cutting away sopping wet clothes-- drenched in either rain or blood-- bit by bit. The soldier stepped back, obviously relieved as you began to work. Before you knew it, they had re-lit the fire and two other candles, bringing them over to you so that you could better see what you were doing.

You nodded a thank-you, astounded at how many injuries this man had sustained. Porcelain skin was stained red, shrapnel was sticking out of too many places. You began to work on his torso first.

“You’re probably wondering what happened.” The soldier sighed, plopping down into a chair. “Well, first of all-- my name’s Hanji, nice to meet you.” They pushed their glasses up onto their forehead, rubbing their eyes. As you pulled out fragment after fragment, they explained their whole situation to you: the coup, the rogue soldier being kept prisoner by the man you were attempting to fix, the explosion. You listened solemnly, thankful that your work gave you a free pass at not having to respond.

When Hanji finished, you had started cleaning off his face, gently wiping away the blood to reveal the soldier beneath. In the silence, while you stitched up wound after wound, you thought perhaps Hanji had fallen asleep. Your stew bubbled in the distance; once you finished stitching up this particularly long and deep gash across his entire face, you would remove it from the fire. You suspected this man had lost his eyesight in one eye; the cut was rather deep.

“So, who are you?” Hanji asked, much to your surprise.

“(F/N, L/N). Nobody important.” You said with a wry smile, and stood back with a sigh. “Your friend might live… _might._ I didn’t notice any signs of internal bleeding while I stitched up his torso, but he’s pretty unresponsive. I’m sorry I can’t do more.” You said, and went over to wash your hands in the little basin by the window.

Hanji sighed. “Thank you. You’ll never know how much of a help you’ve been.”

“Who is he, anyway?”

“Humanity’s strongest soldier.” They said, gazing at him solemnly. “And a good friend.”

You nodded, unsure of what to say. “...Do you want some stew?”

Hanji looked at you with a smile. “I’d like that.”

[-]

You told Hanji that if Levi-- they had told you his name while you spoke over dinner-- made it through the night, then he would have a better chance of living. You and Hanji worked together to carefully move him into your bedroom, laying him gingerly on the soft bed. You would prefer it if he bled on your sheets and not your parents’-- Hanji couldn’t thank you enough. Once you found out the two were Survey Corps soldiers, you were more than eager to help.

You were able to give Hanji a cot to sleep on. They used the one your father would take on hunting trips; it was soft, and relatively comfortable. They insisted on sleeping on the floor while you slept in your parents’ bed, and before you settled down for the night, you checked on Levi one last time.

He was breathing a bit more steadily now, and you decided to take that as a rare, good sign that he would live. You wondered for a fleeting moment how he would possibly continue being a soldier after sustaining these kinds of injuries; he would have to be decommissioned, surely. Just as you were about to turn away, his eyes began to open just the slightest bit. You paused, silently encouraging him to open them more. He just stared at the ceiling for a moment, his steel gray eyes focusing on nothing in particular, and then they closed again.

[-]

The next day brought life. The rain had cleared up, and Levi was still breathing. Hanji was relieved beyond all measure; luckily, they hadn't sustained any wounds themselves, but you suspected they were catching a cold after being in the rain and then the river for so long. You had enlisted their help to change Levi into some of your father's warm, dry clothes before settling him into your bed the night before so as to prevent the wounded soldier from getting any sickness.

As you brought a mug of hot tea to Hanji, sitting by your fireplace, they smiled at you warmly.

“Thank you,” they said, taking a sip. “If you ever get to talk to Levi, you should make him some tea. You'll get on his good side.” Hanji chuckled to themselves, and you just smiled politely. It must have been a joke that only they understood.

You did your morning chores as usual, and when the afternoon came, you went to check on Levi again. As you sat on the bed, inspecting the bandages to make sure no infection had started, Hanji's voice coming from the doorway gave you a start.

“I might need to leave you soon.”

You paused, turning to them in confusion. “This man is in no condition to travel.”

“I know.” Hanji sighed, pinching the bridge of their nose. “I… won't be bringing him with me.”

Clearly, it pained the soldier in front of you to be making this kind of decision. You sensed that they weren't telling you the whole story; there must have been something deeper going on, something dangerous that couldn't be discussed with a civilian like yourself.

You sighed, looking back to Levi, still sound asleep and breathing steadily. You decided you would change his bandages after dinner tonight.

“You've hardly been here a day,” you said cautiously. The thought of this person leaving you with their friend in your care, with the potential of dangerous people on the lookout for him, was daunting to you to say the least. “Wouldn’t you prefer to stay for supper? Maybe you can leave tomorrow--”

“I’m sorry.” Hanji cut you off, crossing their arms. They almost refused to look at you or Levi. “But there are a lot of people out there that need my help; I need to find a way to fix this. Sitting here, hiding here--” they sighed in frustration. You folded your hands in your lap, staring at Hanji’s shoes absently. “I know what I need to do. I know he’d understand…” Hanji came closer to you, and gently placed a folded note on your bedside table. It had Levi’s name written on it, and although you knew neither of these people very well, your heart ached at the tender gesture. Based on the physical wounds on Levi and the scars on Hanji, you knew these two had been through a lot; you could hardly imagine what sort of hell they faced daily. The closest you had ever come to a titan was pulling the corpses of soldiers out of giant decaying bellies.

You stood up, allowing Hanji to sit next to their friend.

“Let me at least make you some tea before you go.” You said as Hanji took hold of Levi’s hand, gingerly holding it as they gazed at his bandaged face. The soldier only nodded, and you turned and left to give them some time alone together.

While the pot of tea warmed over the fire, you gazed outside the window absently. Bessie was chewing on some grass, flicking her tail this way and that while the chickens clucked away. The sky was more vibrant after the rain had wiped everything clean the day before; the sun seemed to be clearer, brighter. As the pot began to boil, you heard Hanji’s footsteps as they emerged from your room, wiping away the vestiges of tears from their eyes.

“I really can’t stay.” They said, pain in their voice.

You bit your lip.

“I’ll take care of him. If you need a horse, there’s a farm not far away from here, maybe two miles east-- the farmer, his name is Ernst, tell him that I sent you and maybe he’ll give you a deal--” You said quickly, wringing your hands. This whole situation was painfully ominous. You felt like the fate of the world was in these soldiers’ hands, and all you could do was wipe away the blood from their eyes and bid them farewell.

Hanji placed their hand on your shoulder, giving you a reassuring smile. “Thank you, truly. I doubt anyone will come looking for Levi here.” They pulled on their Survey Corps cloak, which was covered in soot and smelled like fire after you had used it to smother the fire yesterday. Hanji paused, glancing at you cautiously.

“Would I be able to borrow some of your father’s clothes?” They asked quickly, and you blinked slowly at the odd request. “As a disguise; I need to not look like myself if I’m to make it anywhere past your town.”

You bit your lip; clothes were expensive, and your family didn’t have much money. Still, this soldier was indeed very desperate, and given the times they were living in, anything you could do to help was valued beyond measure. With a nod, you once again ventured into your parents’ room, and pulled out some clothes that looked like they might fit Hanji.

When you gave them to the soldier, they smiled and once again thanked you. Once they were changed, they gave you their uniform and told you to burn it just in case anyone came looking. You only nodded, feeling a knot tie itself in your gut. You couldn’t help but get the feeling that you had dug yourself into a situation you wouldn’t be able to get out of.

Hanji thanked you again-- you gave them some bread and cold meat to start their journey. As the soldier left your home, trudging upstream, you turned back to your home, still nestled in the rolling grass by the river. Now, apparently, you were the caretaker of humanity’s strongest soldier.


End file.
